Now maybe the bad news. We had a pair of them going at the base of a tree on the island a few years ago. Impressive what they can do to a tree if it is full of carpenter ants. A short while later the tree had to come down.

Now maybe the bad news. We had a pair of them going at the base of a tree on the island a few years ago. Impressive what they can do to a tree if it is full of carpenter ants. A short while later the tree had to come down.

Yes, I know about the "bad news"! Pileateds are very destructive and can damage trees so badly they don't survive. Fortunately, this particular bird poked around the ground for a few minutes and then flew off, hopefully not to return.

They are beautiful birds and impressive growing to about 15 inches tall. Their tongue wraps around their brain as a kind of shock obsorber which you have to google to appreciate how it works. Someone told me that their call is kind of like jungle noises and it made sense when I saw and heard them in my back yard wailing away on a dead tree.

Yes, I know about the "bad news"! Pileateds are very destructive and can damage trees so badly they don't survive. Fortunately, this particular bird poked around the ground for a few minutes and then flew off, hopefully not to return.

If the pileateds are boring heavily into your trees, they are likely pretty well infested with wood-boring grubs and they are being damaged from the inside. They are letting you know that this tree is dying and you wouldn't otherwise know the tree is already at risk of coming down in a storm at some point in the future.

If the pileateds are boring heavily into your trees, they are likely pretty well infested with wood-boring grubs and they are being damaged from the inside. They are letting you know that this tree is dying and you wouldn't otherwise know the tree is already at risk of coming down in a storm at some point in the future.

Correct, in our case it was carpenter ants. The tree was pretty well hollowed out in the center and ready to be blown down.